The Chameleon’s Hero
by Trufreak89
Summary: Stella has always been Aiden’s hero mild femslash, nothing graphic


**Title: **The Chameleon's Hero

**Summary: **Stella has always been Aiden's hero (mild femslash, nothing graphic)

**Disclaimer: **I don't own CSI-NY or any of the characters on the show.

**Rating: **PG

**A/N:** This is my first attempt at CSI-NY fanfiction, so the characters could be OOC.

Aiden Burn was a chameleon. She could blend in with any situation and take the false persona as far as she needed to get results. Standing in front of a hospital receptionist she desperately needed to invent a personality that would get her viral information.

"Hi." She greeted the nurse, still breathless from running from the car park. " I need to know where a knife attack victim would be taken on arrival."

"Victim?" The nurse looked down to find Aiden's gun and badge.

"I meant patient." Aiden corrected. "I'm looking for a Stella Bonasera. She was stabbed on 3rd Avenue and brought in about ten minutes ago."

Stella had been stabbed while they were processing a crime scene as the scene had not been cleared properly. A few minutes after the officers on the scene left the apartment the assailant had come out of from under a bed and found Aiden leaning over the body of his eighty-six year old victim who he'd murdered when she'd interrupted him stealing from her apartment.

He'd pulled the switchblade he'd used to stab the woman from his back pocket and grabbed Aiden, pressing the blade to her neck. Stella had walked in on the scene to find her younger colleague the hostage of a man who had nothing to lose, as he was already a murder.

Aiden, being the streetwise and intelligent young woman she was had been negotiating with her attacker. Convincing him that they could see that he hadn't intended for anyone to get hurt, and that if he gave himself they would be lenient on him, but the scared young man hadn't listened.

He'd demanded that Stella throw him the keys to her car and as Aiden looked desperately at her she knew Stella had a plan and would not allow her to be harmed. Her eyes had flashed to the floor and Aiden knew she was to dive down the second she could.

Stella had walked slowly towards him, as close as she could get, until he'd ordered her to stop and just throw her car keys. When she'd thrown them she'd aimed for his eyes and he'd been in so much pain from one of her key's cutting his cheek that he'd let go of Aiden and the young woman had been able to dive down as instructed. Stella had pulled out her gun but it was too late and Aiden had watched in horror as her colleague plunged onto the knife as the assailant rushed forward to escape.

He'd fled the scene, leaving the knife in Stella as she'd dropped to the floor and a pool of blood had formed around her. Aiden had wanted to run after him, but she kept her cool and rushed to Stella's side. Within minutes an ambulance arrived and took her to the Bellevue Hospital on 1st Avenue.

Mac had already tried to phone and receive details on her condition, but neither CSI nor friends could be told, only relatives.

"I'm her sister." Aiden explained to the young nurse. "I really need to know where she is." Aiden's tears were finally starting to fall as she no longer needed to stay in control and pure panic over took her senses.

"She's in the Trauma Unit. The doctors are trying to get her stable." Aiden's falling tears turned to complete crying as the nurse said the word 'trying'.

She could lose one of the most important people in her life. She looked up to Stella professionally and admired her courage and determination. Unprofessionally she had allowed herself to admire the older woman too much. She had let her feelings develop and had pined after her colleague for so long that it no longer hurt to hear her mention a love interest in passing while talking to Mac or to see her flirting with him.

She'd been able to contain her feelings long enough to hide them well and Stella was oblivious to her younger colleague's deepening attraction to her. Aiden was shown to the 'Relatives room' and she waited and cried in the empty room for news of her 'sister'.

"Aiden Bonasera?" A doctor asked as he entered the room. She had told them her last name was Bonasera to make them believe her false persona. She looked up straight away, her face hopeful and begging for good news.

"We have your sister stable, she's unconscious but if you'd like to come sit with her it'd be ok. The police want to talk to her as soon as they can, but they'll have to wait until tomorrow."

Aiden nodded and followed the doctor to where Stella lay in a room. The bleeding had stopped and her wound was bandaged. Her clothes had been removed and she wore a hospital gown as she lay sleeping peacefully in bed.

The doctor left Aiden on her own and the young CSI took a chair and sat by Stella's bedside. She tentatively placed her hand over Stella's and smiled warmly. "This is what you get for being such a damn hero." She cursed, trying to be mad at Stella risking her life to save her, but she couldn't. "God, I thought I'd lost you. Don't ever do that again. I don't know what I'd do if you died."

"I need you. You're my role model. If I'm stuck at work I always think, 'what would Stella do?' and if I screw up you're there to set me right. And…damn, I can't even tell you this stuff while you're unconscious. Show's how spineless I am. I shouldn't have let you risk your life. I should have just gone with him. I'd die if it meant that you'd be safe. I've loved you for so long Stella."

Aiden's tears were falling again at how hard it was to say those words. "I can't lose you." She tenderly kissed Stella's forehead before heading off to leave just as the nurse walked in.

"Wouldn't you like to stay with your sister?" Aiden had to keep up her façade or she'd be in trouble.

"Uh…no…we're not really close y'know? It'd be best if no one mentioned I'd been here, she would be happy." She lied.

"Wouldn't she be glad you were here for her?" Aiden shook her head.

"She doesn't want to be a SiSTAH." The nurse accepted Aiden's protest and went to check up on her patient; oblivious to the sense Aiden had meant sister in.

The next afternoon Aiden went to the hospital to visit her after Mac had taken Stella's statement and thankfully found a different receptionist so she wouldn't have to explain to Stella that she'd told people she was her sister.

"Hi." She greeted her colleague as she entered the room. Stella smiled at seeing her again.

"I'm glad you're ok." She informed Aiden as she sat down in the same seat as she had the previous night.

"Likewise." Aiden replied. "You shouldn't of tried anything yesterday. You could have been killed…"

Stella shook her head and took hold of Aiden's hand. "I couldn't just stand by and let him take you." Aiden couldn't stand the contact and having Stella so close to her and she pulled away.

"I just came to check up on you. I should be getting back to work. Catch the guy who did this…"

"You told them I was you sister." Aiden stopped dead in her tracks as Stella spoke.

"I just needed to make sure you were ok, I had to tell them I was family." Once again she was putting up another façade, but to her they came easily, especially when Stella was concerned.

"I was awake."

Aiden's heart rate tripled. "I woke up just as the doctor was leaving." She explained. Aiden stood facing the door with her hand on the handle and sighed. "I…I was just upset, I thought I was going to lose you."

"You said you…that you lo-"

"Of course I do…we're like a family at work." Aiden tried to blow the comment off but Stella wasn't as oblivious to Aiden's feelings as she had led the younger woman to believe.

"Aiden, I know."

"Know what?" It took all of her strength to choke those words out and she still couldn't turn to face Stella.

"I've known for some time that you…you have feelings towards me." Aiden was all too painfully aware of how small the room was and how Stella could easily see her panicking with her hand on the door.

Taking in a deep breath she decided it was now or never. "You're my hero Stella." She said just loud enough for Stella to hear. "I've always looked up to you, always felt this way about you and I can't do anything to change that. No matter how hard I try…I can't stop loving you."

She turned to see Stella trying to get out of bed and rushed over to her to gently force her back down. "What the hell are you doing? You can't get up." Stella cringed as a pain shot through her side and Aiden instinctively held her hand for support.

When she realised what she was doing she tried to pull her hand away, but Stella held on to it. "I risked my life for you because you're worth it. I couldn't of lived with myself if you'd gotten hurt."

"You're a colleague and a friend and I love you, just not in that way." Aiden nodded as Stella talked and pulled her hand away.

"I got that a long time ago Stella." She sighed and went to the door again. "I'll call by again soon."

"Aiden!" Stella called out to the young woman who's heart she knew she had broken by finally telling her she had no chance with her.

Aiden shook her head. "It's ok." She muttered before leaving. The second she left the door she ran into Danny and Mac and another façade came up. She pretended she was fine and everything was right in the world and left to be on her own, where she could finally drop the front she put up and be herself.

Fin.


End file.
